1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and user interface for designating the ingredients or toppings to be assembled on a pizza as well as their position on the pizza. It is contemplated that the present invention could be incorporated into a point of sale order screen such as may be utilized in a computerized point of sale order taking system.
2. Background Art
A pizza parlor operating a carry-out and/or delivery business typically maintains a phone bank staffed by order takers who answer incoming telephone calls from customers who are calling to place an order for pizzas or other food items to be picked-up by the customer or delivered to the customer""s location. The order takers receive the caller""s order which is ultimately relayed to the kitchen to be filled. In some instances, the order takers merely note the customer""s order on a printed order form by handwriting the particular order or by checking off boxes on the preprinted form to designate the food items being ordered. In some cases, order takers may have access to a computer based point-of-sale order system where, using a visual display and/or user input device, such as a keyboard or touch-screen, order takers are able to enter into a computer system both the customer""s identifying information, such as a name, address and/or telephone number, as well as the food items being ordered. Such computerized systems operate according to software programming which executes the order entry process and controls the screen display, automatically calculates the total charge for the order and transmits the order automatically to the kitchen for preparation.
In a typical restaurant serving pizza, the customer is provided with the opportunity to select from a list ingredients which particular toppings the customer wants placed on the pizza. Customers are further provided the opportunity to specify that certain toppings be placed on one-half of the pizza and other toppings be placed on the other half. Moreover, customers are typically offered the opportunity to designate not only the particular toppings, but also the quantity of toppings, usually as a multiple of the standard measure, e.g. such as by ordering a pizza with double pepperoni.
Customers have become quite creative when it comes to configuring pizza orders. Pizza toppings are no longer limited to the basic ingredients and increasingly include more and more ingredients and toppings, some unconventional, if not exotic. A given customer may place a relatively complex order in an attempt to meet the demands of all of the members of a family who are sharing the pizza. The typical prior art order entry system, be it paper or computerized, still presents a significant opportunity for error in the order taking processxe2x80x94errors which are typically not discovered until a customer receives delivery or returns home with a carry-out order. Errors in the order taking process can cost a restaurant both money and good will in having to replace incorrect orders and/or provide credits to be used on future purchases.
The present invention provides a unique and useful method and user interface for use in conjunction with a computerized point of sale system which facilitates the taking of custom orders from customers specifically designating ingredients or toppings for the left side, right side or entire pizza all in a intuitive and graphic fashion.
The present invention further serves to permit the order taker to not only easily enter an order but to also easily verify the correctness of the order by viewing in color a display of the pizza toppings chosen, confirming the customer""s order and minimizing error.
These and other desirable characteristics of the present invention will become apparent in view of the present specification and drawings.
A method is disclosed for designating toppings to be assembled on a pizza as well as their respective position on the pizza utilizing a user interface having a plurality of three part xe2x80x9cbuttonsxe2x80x9d where each button is associated with a specific topping which the customer may choose to have applied to a pizza. The three parts of each button correspond to the left half, right half and entire surface of the pizza respectively. The method of one embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: selecting one part of one of the three part buttons to designate the application of the topping associated with the button pressed to the left half, right half, or entire surface of the pizza; highlighting at least a portion of the left half, right half or entirety of the button pressed to indicate that the left half, right half or entire surface of the pizza is to receive the topping associated with the button pressed; and repeating the foregoing steps for each topping to be designated for application to the pizza.
The step of selecting a part of one of the three part buttons may be performed by touching the button, where the buttons are displayed on an electronic touch screen video display. Alternatively the step of selecting one part of one of the three part buttons may be performed by pressing one or more keys on a computer keyboard that are associated with the button part being selected, in lieu of the use of a touch screen based system.
The user may press one or more keys on a computer keyboard by simultaneously pressing a first key and a second key, where the first key is associated with a particular topping and the second key is associated with the portion of the pizza (left, right or all) to which the topping should be applied. In a further embodiment, the buttons may be comprised of regions on an electronic video display, and the step of selecting one part of one of the three part buttons may comprised of the substeps of positioning a cursor on the video display over the button part to be selected using an electronic pointing device; and performing a clicking operation with the electronic pointing device.
A further embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: selecting a first part of one of the three part buttons to designate the application of the topping associated with the button pressed to the portion of the pizza surface corresponding to the first part; highlighting a first portion of the left half, right half or entirety of the button pressed to indicate that the left half, right half or entire surface of the pizza is to receive the topping associated with the button pressed; selecting the first part of one of the three part buttons a second time to designate that a double portion of the topping is to be applied to the portion of the pizza surface corresponding to the first part; highlighting a second portion of the left half, right half or entirety of the button pressed to indicate that the left half, right half or entire surface of the pizza is to receive a double portion of the topping designated; and repeating the foregoing steps for each topping to be designated for application to the pizza.
The present invention also comprises a graphic user interface apparatus for facilitating the designation of toppings to be assembled on a pizza as well as their respective positions on the pizza. The user interface comprises a plurality of buttons each corresponding to a specific topping which may be designated for application to a pizza. Each button has a left, center and right region corresponding respectively to the left half, entire surface and right half of the pizza. Means, such as software operating on the computerized point of sale system control the display screen and highlight at least a portion of the left half, right half or entirety of each button when the left, right or center region of a button is selected; whereby the topping associated with each button is to be applied to the portion of the pizza corresponding to the highlighted regions. The graphic user interface may further provide for highlighting a first portion of the left half, right half or entirety of each button when a left, right or center region of the button is selected a first time; and highlighting a second portion of the left half, right half or entirety of each button when the left, right or center region of the button is selected a second time; whereby the topping associated with each button is to be applied to the portion of the pizza corresponding to the highlighted regions in a quantity corresponding to the number of highlighted portions of each region.